With climate change recognised as a threat facing our planet, the race is now on to find effective means to mitigate the impact. Fortunately there are an increasing number of options available to the travel industry, organisations, and individuals who want to take positive action to tackle their carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions.
One such option is “carbon offsetting” – a mechanism that in combination with the measurement of emissions and reductions at source can allow a business to effectively reduce its net CO2 emissions to zero. This is how it works:
Measurement
Company X measures (or commissions an audit) of its “carbon footprint” or total CO2 emissions
Reduction
The emissions assessment identifies how to take steps to avoid or reduce CO2, for example switching offices to a renewable energy tariff and delivering greater energy efficiency.
Offset unavoidable emissions
However far reaching the reductions, there will be some remaining unavoidable emissions. Travel emissions most often fall into this category: The carbon footprint of vehicle fleets are changing slowly but face to face meetings using air travel are a ‘must’ for some global corporations.
These unavoidable emissions can be compensated for or offset by working with a specialist like ACTE partner The CarbonNeutral Company (TCNC). For every 1000 tonnes of CO2 produced by Company X, TCNC pays for 1000 tonnes of CO2 to be saved somewhere else in the world (these are called ‘carbon credits’). For example, the saving can be achieved by replacing fossil fuel energy in Sri Lanka with solar panels or supporting forestry (where the trees literally absorb CO2).
The benefits of this approach are multi-levelled. The process of offsetting, for example, helps companies to re-price carbon emissions by putting a financial cost on the climate change impacts of their business. As legislation is likely to get tighter, this sort of voluntary action can be part of a ‘future proofing’ strategy. In tandem with reductions, offsetting also buys some time whilst low or no carbon technologies are being developing. And, last but not least, whilst carbon offsetting is not a silver bullet for climate change, the purchase of carbon credits also helps to channel crucial funds into renewable energy and energy efficiency projects around the world that reduce CO2 emissions and help many communities in developing countries to grow in a sustainable manner.
